Streaming Roulette April: The Dirt, Monster House, and Now Apocalypse

As is our practice we've selected a couple handful of titles and frozen the films at utterly random moments without cheating (whatever comes up comes up!) for this quick preview. At the bottom of the page, check out full listings for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO for April 2019. And please do let us know if you're dying to discuss any of the films. Maybe we'll select one to write up? Okay, let's go...

Holy shit. Barnabas!

Now Apocalypse, Season 1 (2019) on Hulu (with Starz add-on)
Pictured there are the four leads of Now Apocalypse all of them gorgeous / funny / frequently naked in the first TV series from Gregg Araki of 1990s new queer cinema fame. Araki's preoccupations haven't changed much (or at all!)  since the 1990s. A twinkish lead with floppy dark hair? Check. Constant drug use? Sex. Filthy language and explicitly sexual humor? Check. A preoccupation with supernatural kinds of rape? Check. A dumb but impossibly sweet and sincere straight hunk? Check. Impossibly hip but somewhat chilly woman with black hair? Check. Sexual fluidity for every character even those with a pronounced label or gay or straight? Check. Slutty female best friend with most of the best lines? Check. End of the world fantasies and paranoia? Check. Older predatory queers in abundance? Check. Aliens or supernatural occurences? Of course! The show is way too repetitive in the early episodes (lots of flashbacks to previous episodes which is weird for streaming shows since you've literally usually just been watching what you're now flashing back to) but about halfway into the season the short episodes start  to come together in fun ways, including a hilarious and much smarter way of folding back in on itself with an in-series webseries, wherein the characters are reenacting the early episodes and playing themselves badly or being played unflatteringly by actors hired to play them. 

She never blinked during the interview.

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019) on HBO GO
The latest from Oscar winning documentarian Alex Gibney about Elizabeth Holmes and her scam company Theranos. Abe reviewed this for us at Sundance. 

The Teamsters are not going to back down.

Hoffa (1992) on HBO GO
Jack Nicholson played Jimmy Hoffa in this 1992 biopic directed by Danny DeVito which was not a hit (only 2 nominations for Makeup and Cinematography despite being a prestige biopic with a high profile.) But it might be worth checking out given that Martin Scorsese's The Irishman is on its way soon and will share at least a couple of the same characters. Al Pacino plays Hoffa in the new film. Contrast and compare!

I only wanted a little love affair
Now I can see you are beginning to care
But baby. Believe me
It's better to forget me 🎵

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) on HBO GO
This movie was cute. I only just realized yesterday that the director Ol Parker is married to Thandie Newton and I found this out because Murtada told me on the podcast (coming soon) that the little girl who stars in Dumbo is their daughter! You learn something new every day. But now I can't help but superimpose Thandie Newton into the Mamma Mia! sequel. She looks great dancing around in the sunshine in 70s clothes.

 

[pained grunt]

Ultraman Season 1 (2019) on Netflix
Apparently, like multiple franchises right now, this new series is a "legacy" project in that its not pretending to "reboot" but merely renew the Ultraman story (with the hero being the son of the older man who once merged with Ultraman) or something like that. Does anyone remember the syndicated Ultraman tv series? 

GROSS!

The Dirt (2019) on Netflix
A biopic of Mötley Crüe starring Douglas Booth as Nikki Sixx and Colson Baker as Tommy Lee. That's Tony Cavalero as Ozzy Osbourne, flashing the band. (No. we did not cheat. In streaming roulette, whatever comes up, comes up! That's the rule.)

This is no dragon. This is Lucifer.

Dragonslayer (1981) on Hulu and Prime
Remember this movie? Anyone? Peter MacNichol was always such a strange choice for attempted leading man status.  (Two Oscar nominations for Visual Effects and Original Score)

Constance! Her whole body is buried in cement.

Monster House (2006) on Netflix
Oh Constance 💔 Was this Kathleen Turner's last great movie role? Love this toon so much but it's a lonely feeling. Shoulda won the Animated Feature Oscar in its year since it's better than Happy Feet or Cars, its competition that year as there were only 3 nominees.

- How long you gals been doing this kind of work?
-A while. 

Sunshine Cleaning (2009) on Hulu
Remember this one with Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Alan Arkin? A strangely prestige-free entry at this point in everyone's careers shortly after a second Oscar nomination, a breakthrough, and an Oscar win, respectively speaking. But not every movie can be a winner or a big hit.

Also streaming right now

• Across The Line
• All the President’s Men (1976)
• The Bone Collector
• Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
• The Burial of Kojo
• Deliverance (1972)
• Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
• Evolution
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
• Friday the 13th (2009)
• The Golden Compass
• How to Get Away with Murder: Season 5
• I Am Legend
• Lakeview Terrace
• Obsessed
• Penelope
• Pineapple Express
• Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon: S2
• P.S. I Love You
• El sabor de las margaritas
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• Snatch
• Spy Kids
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D
• Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series
• Valkyrie

April 2

• Kevin Hart: Irresponsible

April 3

• Suzzanna: Buried Alive

April 5

• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 2 (2019)
• In The Shadows
• Legacies: Season 1
• Our Planet
• Persona: Collection
• Roman Empire: Caligula: The Mad Emperor
• Spirit Riding Free: Season 8
• Tijuana
• Unicorn Store

April 9

• Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 6

April 10

• New Girl: Season 7
• You vs. Wild [INTERACTIVE] (2019)

April 11

• Black Summer

April 12

• A Land Imagined
• Band Aid
• Huge in France
• Mighty Little Bheem
• The Perfect Date
• The Silence
• Special
• Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island?

April 15

• Luis Miguel – The Series: Season 1
• No Good Nick
• The New Romantic

April 16

• Super Monsters Furever Friends

April 18

• My First First Love

April 19

• A Fortunate Man
• Brené Brown: The Call to Courage
• Cuckoo: Season 5
• I, Daniel Blake
• Music Teacher
• Rilakkuma and Kaoru
• Samantha!: Season 2 
• Someone Great

April 20

• Grass is Greener

April 22

• Pinky Malinky: Part 2
• Selection Day – New Episodes

April 23

• I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

April 24

• Bonding

April 25

• The Hateful Eight: Extended Version
• The Ugly Truth

April 26

• The Protector: Season 2
• ReMastered: Devil at the Crossroads
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 2
• Street Food
• The Sapphires
• Yankee

April 27

• American Honey

April 28

• Señora Acero: Season 5

April 29

• Burning (2018)
• The Imitation Game

April 30

• Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward
• Baki: Part 2
• Ingress: The Animation

Also streaming right now

• 1492: Conquest of Paradise
• Abbys: Season 1 (WEEKLY)
• The Act: Season 1 (WEEKLY)
• The Addams Family (1991)
• Addams Family Values (1993)
• Akeelah and the Bee
• America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story
• An Everlasting Piece
• At Close Range
• Barton Fink
• Beethoven
• Beethoven’s 2nd
• Beethoven’s 3rd
• Beverly Hills Cop II
• Big Fat Liar
• Blow
• Blown Away
• Bounce
• The Cable Guy
• Case 39
• The Clearing
• Cold Mountain
• Curious George: Follow that Monkey
• Darkness 
• The Dark Mile
• Days of Thunder
• Diamonds are Forever
• Die Another Day
• Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief
• Eastern Promises (2007)
• Escape from L.A. 
• Everything Must Go
• The Falcon and the Snowman
• Fear the Walking Dead: Season 4
• The Fix: Season 1 (WEEKLY)
• Foxfire
• Funny About Love
• Funny Cow 
• Gloves Off
• Goldfinger
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
• Happy Feet (2006)
• Hollywood Homicide
• Hot Shots! Part Deux 
• I Think I Love My Wife
• In A World… 
• The Jerk
• Jersey Girl
• Kill the Irishman
• Law of the Lawless
• Liberty Stands Still
• License to Drive
• Like Mike
• Little Monsters 
• Live and Let Die
• The Living Daylights
• The Man with the Golden Gun
• The Minus Man
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Octopussy (1983)
• One Million American Dreams
• Painkillers
• Penelope
• Playing By Heart
• Practical Magic
• Pretty Little Liars: The Perfections: Season 1 (WEEKLY)
• Primal Fear
• Project Nim
• Racing with the Moon
• Scary Movie 2
• The Seven Year Itch
• Sex Drive
• The Shining
• Six Degrees of Separation
• The Spy Who Loved Me
• Stories We Tell 
• The Time Traveler’s Wife
• Ultraviolet
• Undisputed
• Uninvited Guest
• Up in Smoke 
• Up in the Air (2009)
• The Village: Season 1 (WEEKLY)
• White Noise
• The World Is Not Enough
• You Only Live Twice

April 2

• One-Punch Man: Special
• A Quiet Place (2018)
• Air Strike
• Weightless

April 5

• Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger: Season 2 (WEEKLY)

April 8

• Finding Your Feet – comedy, drama, music
• Paranormal Activity 2 – horror

April 9

• One-Punch Man: Season 2 
• Destroyer (2018)

April 10

• The Bold Type: Season 3 (WEEKLY)
• Chio’s School Road: Season 1
• How Not to Summon a Demon Lord:  Season 1 

April 11

• The Last Ship: Season 5 (WEEKLY)
• Tyrel 

April 12

• Pledge

April 14

• Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine

April 15

• Obsession: Dark Desires : Season 2 
• Pamela Smart: An American Murder Mystery: Season 1
• Treehouse Masters: Seasons 8-10 
• Unearthed: Seasons 2-3
• What on Earth: Seasons 2-3 (Science Channel)
• Enchanted April (1992)
• Master of Disguise
• We Are Columbine

April 17

• Bless This Mess: Season 1 (WEEKLY)
• Overboard

April 18

• I Am The Night : Season 1
• The Quake 

April 19

• Ramy: Season 1 [SXSW Winner]

April 21

• Book Club (2018)
• Noma — My Perfect Storm

April 22

• The Next Three Days
• The Sisters Brothers (2018)

April 23

• Overlord: Season 1
• Arcadia
• Beast of the Water

April 24

• Border
• Don’t Go

April 27

• Welcome to the Rileys

April 28

• Attack on Titan: Season 3, Part 2 (WEEKLY) 

April 29

• Fairy Tail: Season 9
• Waiting for Superman

April 30

• Vikings: Season 5B
• Hunting Evil (2019)

Also streaming right now

• 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
• Addams Family (1991)
• Addams Family Values (1993)
• American Renegads (2017)
• An Invited Guest (1999)
• Beetlejuice (1988)
• Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
• Blade (1998)
• Blade II (2002)
• Blade: Trinity (2004)
• Blown Away (1994)
• Case 39 (2009)
• Cold War (2018)
• Days of Thunder (1990)
• Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• The Domestics (2018)
• Dragonslayer (1981)
• Escape from L.A. (1996)
• An Everlasting Piece (2000)
• Everything Must Go (2010)
• Foxfire (1996)
• Funny About Love (1990)
• Goldfinger (1964)
• Hanna: Season 1 
• In a World… (2013)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
• Law of the Lawless (1964)
• Liberty Stands Still (2002)
• Little Monsters (1989)
• Live and Let Die (1973)
• Murder She Wrote: Seasons 1-5
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Octopussy (1983)
• Outlaws (2019)
• Primal Fear (1996)
• Racing with the Moon (1984)
• Sharkwater Extinction (2018)
• Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
• Starsky & Hutch (2004)
• Stories We Tell (2012)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
• The Living Daylights (1987)
• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
• The Minus Man (1999)
• The Perfect Storm (2000)
• The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
• The World Is Not Enough (1999)
• Up in Smoke (1978)
• Up in the Air (2009)
• You Only Live Twice (1967)

April 2

• A Quiet Place (2018)

April 5

• The Tick (Prime Original Series), Season 2

April 8

• Finding Your Feet (2018)
• Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

April 12

• Bug Diaries (Prime Original Series), Season 1
•  Diablo Guardian (Prime Original Series), Season 2

April 17

• Overboard (2018)

April 18

• Mid90s (2018)

April 19

• Bosch (Prime Original Series), Season 5

April 21

• Book Club (2018)

April 22

• The Next Three Days (2010)

April 27

• The Hole in the Ground (2018)
• Humans, Season 3
• Welcome to the Rileys (2010)

April 29

• Waiting for ‘Superman’ (2010)

April 30

• Vikings, Season 5

Also streaming right now...

• A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)
• A Time to Kill (1996)
• A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
• Annie Hall (1977)
• Bananas (1971)
• Barry: Season 2 (WEEKLY)
• Ben (1972)
• Color of Night (Director's Cut Only) (1994)
• Golden Life: Season 3 (WEEKLY)
• The Green Inferno (2015)
• Griff The Invisible (2011)
• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
• Hoffa (1992)
• I Am Sam (2002)
• The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
• Jonah Hex (2010)
• Just Wright (2010)
• Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut) (2005)
• The Little Rascals (1994)
• Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
• Manhattan (1979)
• Mean Girls (2004)
• The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
• The Meg (2018)
• October Sky (1999)
• Pride (2007)
• Repo Men (Extended Version) (2010)
• Slow Burn (2007)
• Splice (2010)
• Suffragette (2015)
• Veep: Season 7 (WEEKLY)
• Veronica Mars (2014)
• Waking Ned Devine (1998)

April 6th

• Native Son (2019)
• The Nun (2018)

April 13th

• Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

April 14th

• Game of Thrones: Season 8 (WEEKLY)

April 20th

• BlacKkKlansman (2018)

April 22nd

• Gentleman Jack: Season 1 (WEEKLY)

April 27th

• The Darkest Minds (2018)

Comments

[Pedro]

Being honest, I hated Monster House. Maybe a revisit? And the girl in Dumbo is the spitting image of her mother. When I saw the ads, I thought that she looked a lot like Tandy. Figures...

[Suzanne]

Hulu and Prime have stepped up their games lately. I'm excited to see Book Club, Destroyer and Border come to Hulu later this month; I missed them all in theaters.

[Sonja]

Monster House should really have won. So underrated.
Happy Feet... *sigh*
Though at least Cars didn't win.

[Arlo]

Well, Happy Feet is the reason George Miller has an Oscar, so ...

[LadyEdith]

I'm just going to mention one more series that started streaming mid-march on CBS. The wonderful Christine Baranski is back with season 3 of "The Good Fight".
I don't know why CBS has stuck this great show on their streaming service but it's well written, witty, and has the best insights on what it's like living in the age of Trump.
Audra Mcdonald, Rose Leslie, Cush Jumbo, Andrea Martin to name but a few, are part of this great cast.

[Jakey]

I am so excited for The Inventor! I read BAD BLOOD and it was NUTS.

[NATHANIEL R]

so NONE of you are watching NOW APOCALYPSE? No thoughts on it?

[Evangelina]

Genuine question Nathaniel - I like the look of Now Apoclaypse but I have serious reservations about films and shows that glamourise hedonistic drug use. Is it just weed we are talking or something more pernicious?

[NATHANIEL R]

Evangelina -- mostly just weed. The main lead is high pretty much all the time... though i wouldn't say its glamorized. It's more comic relief and his bff keeps suggesting he maybe lay off the stuff given his paranoia

[Ishmael]

Binge watched the series and it was great. Side note, I was best friends with Bruce la Bruce's cinematographer in the early Ninties; they were roomates, and during TIFF Arakai and the cast of The Living End came to Jerry's loft where we all watched No Skin off My Ass, with Bruce hosting (if that's what u wanna call it). TIFF wasn't very helpful to fringe talent back then so, so after Araki's premiere they stayed with us in South West Spadina. Mike Dytri and my boyfriend at the time could have passed as twins (so everybody kept repeated/ing ad nauseum). The evening was smashing, and alls well and ends well.